Baseball Heads South To Take On Georgia Tech

March 16, 2000

No. 3/2/2 NORTH CAROLINA (21-0) at No. NR/24/24 Georgia Tech (12-6)
March 17-19, 2000
Russ Chandler Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.

LIVE STATS UPDATE: TarHeelBlue.com will bring you live In-Game Statistics for all three games in Atlanta. As usual, we'll be updating all the action after every 1/2 inning.

TV UPDATE: Sunday's game will be televised live at 1:00 p.m. ET by Fox Sports South. Watch the game while you keep up with our comprehensive in-game stats.

CAROLINA QUICK FACTS
Probable Starters:
Fri.-Ryan Snare, LHP (4-0, 5.06 ERA, 33 k)
Sat.-Eric Henderson, LHP (4-0, 2.29 ERA, 36 K)
Sun.-Chris Elmore, LHP (2-0, 4.59 ERA, 25 K)
Head Coach: Mike Fox (UNC '78)
Fox's Record at UNC: 62-18 (second year)
Fox's Overall Record: 602-159-4 (16th year)
Assistant Coaches: Chad Holbrook
Roger Williams
Scott Forbes

GEORGIA TECH QUICK FACTS
Probable Starters:
Fri.-Cory Vance, LHP (3-1, 3.20 ERA, 34 K)
Sat.-TBA
Sun.-TBA
Head Coach: Danny Hall (Miami, Ohio '77)
Hall's Record at GT: 265-126 (seventh year)
Hall's Overall Record: 473-243 (13th year)
Assistant Coaches: Mike Trapasso
Jeff Guy
Josh Sorge

CAROLINA OPENS ACC PLAY UNDEFEATED AT GEORGIA TECH
The second-ranked North Carolina baseball team opens ACC play at Georgia Tech following a 12-game homestand that saw the Tar Heels set new school records for best start to a season and most consecutive wins. Carolina is 21-0 and after this weekend's series with the Yellow Jackets will return home for a 10-game run at Boshamer Stadium, a place where the Tar Heels have won 52 consecutive games against non-conference opponents and 42 of its past 45 games overall.

Two of those three losses came at the hands of Georgia Tech last year, as the Yellow Jackets ended UNC's 1999 regular-season by winning back-to-back 3-2 decisions before scoring a 15-4 win over Carolina at the ACC Tournament in Durham.

Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1901, 42-38. Carolina has taken three of the past five series between the two schools and has won six of its past seven games versus Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

ANOTHER RECORD START IN 2000
Carolina, 21-0 thus far in 2000, is in the midst of its best start in school history as well as the longest winning streak of all-time at UNC. Last year, Carolina set those same records when it got off to a 16-0 start. The UNC winning streak ranks as the second best of all-time in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson's 26-0 start in 1977 is the both the best start to a season and the longest winning streak in league history.

Of Carolina's 21 wins, seven have come against ranked opponents, including a three-game sweep of then-No. 2 UCLA in Westwood and a sweep of Central Florida, Rice and defending national champion Miami at the season-opening ACC/Disney Blast at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

CAROLINA ENJOYS HIGHEST NATIONAL RANKING IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Ranked No. 3 in the country by Baseball America and No. 2 by both Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and in the USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, the Tar Heels are enjoying their highest rankings in school history. Carolina's No. 2 showings are an all-time high, while last year the Tar Heels peaked at an all-time best No. 3 in Baseball America's March 15 and 22 polls.

CAROLINA'S HOME DOMINANCE CONTINUES IN 2000
Carolina has won 52 consecutive non-conference home games, including 12 thus far in 2000. The last time the Tar Heels lost to a non-ACC opponent at Boshamer Stadium was Feb. 21, 1998, versus Seton Hall. Carolina posted one of its most productive seasons ever at home in 1999, winning 27 of 30 games for a .900 winning percentage. Off to a 15-0 home start this year, Carolina hosts NC State March 24-26 for the first ACC series in Chapel Hill of the season.

COMEBACKS HELP TAR HEELS REMAIN PERFECT
Ten of Carolina's 20 wins this season have come after the Tar Heels have trailed at one point in the game. Most notably, Carolina went into the ninth inning of the Feb. 18 game at UCLA trailing 13-4 before scoring 13 runs in the top half of that inning to prevail 17-13 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Two days later, Carolina trailed 6-0 after two innings to the Bruins, but an 11-run fourth inning put the Tar Heels ahead for good as they prevailed in that rain-shortened game 12-11. Carolina also faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the 10th inning in the second game of the Penn State doubleheader (Feb. 13), but three runs in bottom half of that inning was the difference in a 3-2 UNC victory.

CAROLINA'S COMEBACKS

Date    Opponent                Latest Deficit  Final Score
2/28    vs. Central Florida     3-4 (6th)       W 9-6
2/29    vs. Rice                0-2 (8th)       W 8-2
2/13    Penn State (Gm. 2)      0-2 (10th)      W 3-2 (10)
2/18    at UCLA                 4-13 (9th)      W 17-13
2/19    at UCLA                 0-1 (1st)       W 6-4
2/20    at UCLA                 0-6 (3rd)       W 12-11 (6)
2/23    East Carolina           0-3 (4th)       W 6-4
3/1     VCU                     0-1 (3rd)       W 8-4
3/4     West Virginia           0-1 (2nd)       W 4-3
3/12    Richmond                0-1 (3rd)       W 2-1

TAR HEELS HONORED IN BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS BY THE ACC
One week after freshman Sean Farrell was named the ACC Player of the Week (Feb. 21) for an outstanding three games at UCLA, junior Ryan Earey earned the honor on Feb. 28 for a week that included 7-for-14 hitting, 10 runs batted in and 2.1 innings of scoreless relief pitching. Earey led Carolina to wins over No. 19 East Carolina and a three-game sweep of Seton Hall. In UNC's 15-8 win over Seton Hall on Feb. 26, Earey was 3-for-3, including a three-run homer to deep center field, and he knocked in a career-high-tying seven runs.

For the season, Earey leads the Tar Heels in batting average (.418), runs (26), home runs (5) and RBI (28). He's also made seven appearances as a relief pitcher, where he has a 2-0 record, a 1.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.

FOX GETS 50TH CAROLINA WIN IN UCLA SWEEP
Second-year head coach Mike Fox, a 1978 UNC graduate and former baseball letterwinner, has led the Tar Heels to a 62-18 record, including a school-best 21-0 start this year and a 22-2 start to the 1999 campaign, since returning to his alma mater in May of 1998. With Carolina's three-game sweep of UCLA Feb. 18-20, Fox became the quickest Tar Heel skipper to reach the 50-win mark in history. Bill Fetzer, Carolina's head coach from 1921-25, previously held that distinction, leading UNC to a 50-16-4 mark in his first 70 games at the helm.

TAR HEEL TRENDS

Freshman right-hander Scott Autrey has picked up wins in each of his last four appearances, including recent starts against Seton Hall, Western Carolina and Pace. Against the Setters on March 14, Autrey allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings for his fifth win.

After missing nearly two weeks with a sore right elbow, Derrick DePriest returned for a stellar 1.2 scoreless innings on March 12 against Richmond. DePriest was last year's NCAA leader with a 1.71 ERA, and he has given up just one earned run in 17 innings this year. The senior closer has made 10 appearances and has struck out 18 batters to go along with four saves and one win. His ERA is 0.53.

Dating back to a 3-for-4 performance in the 17-13 win at UCLA on Feb. 18, Ryan Earey has hit safely in 15 straight games, one shy of his career long. Earey has actually recorded at least one hit in 19 of 21 games this year, and he leads the team in batting average (.418), runs (26), home runs (five) and RBI (28). He's also been hit by an amazing 18 pitches in just 21 games, a figure that also easily leads the team. The versatile junior has also been equally successful on the mound, where he has tied a career high with four strikeouts in each of his last two appearances.

Chris Elmore shook off rough starts against UCLA and Seton Hall to pick up his second win of the season on March 5 against West Virginia. Elmore has still not lost a decision since April 19, 1997 and his career winning percentage of .857 (12-2) ranks second all-time at UNC. While he did not earn a decision in his last outing (March 12 versus Richmond), he was very effective over 5.2 innings. He allowed just one run on three hits while striking out five batters but left the game in the sixth with the score tied 1-1.

Sean Farrell had a monster game on March 7 versus Western Carolina. In that 11-8 win over the Catamounts, Farrell had two home runs and five RBI in batting 3-for-4. The next day against WCU he got the start at first base and had an RBI double in the eighth inning.

Tyrell Godwin has at least one hit in eight of his past nine games and he ranks second on the team with 10 multi-hit games.

Adam Greenberg has hit home runs in three of the past six games, including leadoff homers on March 5 against West Virginia and March 8 versus Western Carolina. He has also shaken off an 0-12 performance at UCLA by notching at least one hit in the 12 games since. Over the past four games, Greenberg has hit 8-for-12 (.667), including two homers and a triple, with five RBI.

Eric Henderson continued a tremendous run in his first year in Chapel Hill with another fine outing on March 11 against Richmond. Henderson tossed Carolina's first complete game of the year, a two-hit shutout, for his fourth win.

Clay Hooper ranks second on the team with a .405 batting average and leads the Tar Heels with 11 multi-hit games and seven doubles. Hooper has had five three-hit games this year.

Jay Madeira had his most productive offensive game of the season in the 11-8 win over Western Carolina on March 7. He was 3-for-5 at the plate, scored three runs and stole two bases.

Chris Maples, who primarily sees time as a late-inning middle infielder, has five hits in 22 at bats on the season. Three of his five hits have been doubles.

Matt McCay had his second three-run homer of the year in the win over Pace on March 14. He also knocked in a career-high four runs in that 10-0 victory. In the 12-11 win over UCLA on Feb. 20 he sparked an 11-run fourth inning with his first three-run home run of the year.

After suffering through one of the worst outings of his UNC career Feb. 18 at UCLA, Ryan Snare has responded with wins in each of his past three outings to move to 4-0.

PITCHING HAS BEEN RIGHT ON TARGET
After finishing eighth in the nation in 1999 with a 3.73 team ERA, Carolina's pitching staff has picked up right where it left off a year ago despite losing first-round draft picks Kyle Snyder and Mike Bynum from last year's rotation. The Tar Heels have a 3.51 ERA through 21 games and have already posted five shutout wins. Carolina has not had that many shutouts in an entire season since blanking six opponents in 1990. The Tar Heels have allowed just two runs in their last four outings, outscoring opponents 25-2 in that span.

DEPRIEST CLIMBS IN UNC RECORD BOOK
Derrick DePriest is currently in second place in the Carolina record book for all-time appearances with 99. The senior right-hander, who last year led the nation with a 1.71 ERA, has appeared 10 games this year. He has allowed just five hits and one earned run and has struck out 18 batters in 17 innings for a 0.53 ERA. In the 2-1 win over Richmond on March 12, he earned his fourth save. He entered that game with runners on first and second and just one out and proceeded to strike out back-to-back Spider batters to end the inning. Then in the ninth, with runners on second and third and two outs and Carolina ahead by just one run, he got his third punch out to preserve the win.

ELMORE CONTINUES WINNING WAYS IN 2000
Chris Elmore continued his winning ways in Florida in guiding the Tar Heels to a 9-0 win over Miami. The senior left-hander pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up just four hits to up his career record to 11-2 while earning his first win of the season. A victory on March 5 against West Virginia improved his all-time winning percentage to .857, which ranks second all-time at Carolina. He has not lost a decision since April 19, 1997.

BLAKE OUT FOR SEASON
Sophomore DH/1B/C Ryan Blake will miss the remainder of the 2000 season due to a partial tear of his right rotator cuff. He will undergo surgery in early March and will require six months of rehabilitation after the operation. Blake had played in nine games this year for the Tar Heels. He was hitting .323 with 13 RBI. At the season-opening ACC/Disney Blast, Blake was named to the all-tournament team after going 5-for-10 at the plate with four runs scored. He propelled the Tar Heels to an 8-2 win over Rice with a two-out, two-run triple in the ninth inning of that game and added a two-run home run in a 9-0 victory over the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes. Blake will apply for a medical red-shirt season and should be ready to rejoin the Tar Heels next fall.

BIG INNINGS PROPEL CAROLINA PAST UCLA
Carolina notched a 13-run ninth inning on Friday and an 11-run fourth on Sunday in taking three straight games from UCLA Feb. 18-20 in Westwood. The second-ranked Bruins held a 13-4 advantage heading into the ninth inning of the Feb. 18 contest before the Tar Heels exploded for 13 runs in the top of the ninth to score a dramatic 17-13 come-from-behind victory. Two days later, Carolina trailed 6-0 early, but responded with an 11-run fourth inning to pull ahead of UCLA 11-6. Carolina eventually won the six-inning (rain) game 12-11 to complete a three-game sweep of the Bruins. On Saturday, Eric Henderson had his third consecutive solid outing for the Tar Heels, as he scattered three runs on four hits over 6.0 innings while striking out nine to earn his second win of the season.

TAR HEELS START SEASON WITH A BLAST
Carolina got off to a tremendous start to the 2000 season when it traveled to the ACC/Disney Baseball Blast in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and came away with three straight wins over a strong field of non-conference opponents. The Tar Heels opened the three-day, season-opening tournament at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex with a come-from-behind 9-6 win over No. 23 Central Florida. On Saturday, UNC scored eight runs in the final two innings to erase a 2-0 deficit and defeat No. 14 Rice 8-2. Carolina capped the weekend with a 9-0 win over defending national champion Miami. The 9-0 shutout of the fifth-ranked Hurricanes was just the second time Miami had been held scoreless since 1975. Ryan Blake, Chris Elmore, Adam Greenberg and Dan Moylan were each named to the All-Tournament team.

FRESHMEN MAKE IMPRESSIVE DEBUT AT DISNEY
Three true freshmen, Adam Greenberg, Russ Adams and Chad Prosser all saw considerable playing time in Carolina's season-opening tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. All three, as well as starting pitcher Eric Henderson, got off to tremendous starts to their respective Carolina careers. Greenberg started all three games in centerfield and was 6-for-12 at the plate with four RBI, four runs scored, a triple and three stolen bases in making the all-tournament team. Adams was Carolina's starting third baseman against Central Florida and Rice and he was 1-for-2, scoring twice in the 9-6 win over the Golden Knights. Prosser started two games at second and one at short and batted 3-for-9, including a 2-for-3 performance with one RBI and two runs scored against Central Florida. Meanwhile, Henderson earned the start against Rice and gave up just two runs on three hits in 6.1 innings in his debut.

CAROLINA PASSES 2,000-WIN PLATEAU AGAINST SETON HALL
Carolina celebrated its 2,000th all-time win early in the season by defeating Seton Hall 8-0 on Feb. 25. In 111 seasons, the Tar Heels have posted a 2,010-1,191-36 all-time record and are coming off their most productive decade in history. Carolina won 379 games in the 1990s and posted four seasons with more than 40 victories.

2000 HONOR ROLL

Ryan Blake - ACC/Disney Blast All Tournament Team

Ryan Earey - ACC Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 28)

Chris Elmore - ACC/Disney Blast All Tournament Team

Sean Farrell - ACC Player of the Week (Feb. 21)

Adam Greenberg - ACC/Disney Blast All Tournament Team

Dan Moylan - ACC/Disney Blast All Tournament Team

2000 Preseason honors
The following Tar Heels were honored as preseason All-Americas:

Derrick DePriest: second-team All-America (Collegiate Baseball)

Tyrell Godwin: first-team All-America (Baseball America), second-team All-America (Collegiate Baseball)

Ryan Snare: third-team All-America (Baseball America)

The following Tar Heels were recognized by Baseball America in its College Preview issue:

Derrick DePriest: first-team All-ACC

Ryan Earey: first-team All-ACC

Tyrell Godwin: first-team All-ACC, No. 2 ACC prospect for 2000 Draft, ACC's fastest runner

Eric Henderson: No. 3 ACC newcomers

Dan Moylan: first-team All-ACC, No. 8 ACC prospect for 2000 draft, ACC's top defensive catcher

Ryan Snare: first-team All-ACC, No. 3 ACC prospect for 2000 Draft

CAROLINA By the Numbers

When Leading After...
6 Innings: 17-0
7 Innings: 16-0
8 Innings: 16-0

When Trailing After...
6 Innings: 2-0
7 Innings: 2-0
8 Innings: 1-0

When Tied After...
6 Innings: 2-0
7 Innings: 2-0
8 Innings: 2-0

Extra Innings: 1-0
1-Run Games: 4-0
2-Run Games: 2-0
5+ Run Games: 10-0

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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